Tuesday, November 26, 2013

His failure to defend the World Chess Championship title notwithstanding, Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand will continue to be the brand ambassador of premier IT education institute NIIT.

Anand, a five-time world chess champion, lost the crown to Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen last week in the match conducted in his home city of Chennai.

The setback triggered speculation that Anand would be dropped as brand ambassador of NIIT, a brand he has promoted for quite a few years.

But NIIT Chairman Rajendra S Pawar said the iconic Grandmaster would remain on board.

"We salute Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, for placing India prominently on the world chess map. A true sporting legend and a national hero, Anand continues to inspire young Indians to embrace the game of chess," he said in a statement.

"Anand has made chess a national movement by initiating 1.65 million students into the game of Chess through our joint initiative – the NIIT MindChampions' Academy. Together, NIIT and Anand will continue to work towards taking Indian chess to greater heights," he added. * Brand ambassadors: Anand and Carlsen

Friday, November 8, 2013

You got it right: That's a hoarding - pat in the middle of Chennai - for cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. A group of fans have put it up.

India is a cricket-crazy country with crazier fans. Walk down Chennai streets and there's very little banner space left for chess fans. Either it's cricket fans taking away space to wish their "god" a farewell as he plays his final test series before retirement this November, or it's Chief Minister Jayalalitha's banners announcing the World Chess Championship in Chennai.

It's almost a ritual to cheer for your favourite sports hero. If there's no space on Indian streets, it's elsewhere... on Facebook and Twitter! Considering chess is not all that a street sport, this was expected. Definitely more Indian chess fans in the cyberworld (than the streets of Chennai).

First up was NIIT Limited, Viswanathan Anand's long-time sponsor, who started the #Wish4Vishy (http://www.wish4vishy.com) hashtag for a national movement to enable every Indian to cheer for reigning World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan (Vishy) Anand, as he prepares to take on challenger Magnus Carlsen.

Amul, with the tag line, 'The taste of India' is well known for funny and witty ads featuring the famous 'Amul girl'. Their advertisements are a tradition in themselves featuring the most-talked about event of the week in India. Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, and is sometimes even referred to as Anand (!!!) Milk Union Limited because it is based in Anand, Gujarat.

The text on the Amul hoarding reads, "Lick, Maskarlsen, Anand" a smart pun on the names of the chess players as well as a line that says, "Make your move."
For the uninitiate, 'maska' refers to butter. Amul is the #1 butter available in India since generations. Bun-maska (bun and butter) is the hottest street breakfast you can find anywhere in India on any given morning.

This poster comes from 'Veni, Vidi, Vishy' - a social media chess campaign that will also run on Facebook and Twitter through the World Chess Championship.
The creative idea, copy and design are all by Qruize's marketing team. Qruize Technologies Pvt. Ltd is a young research driven Information & Communications Technology Company based out of Chennai.Qruize decided to first wish Viswanathan Anand in the local language Tamil with: Pattaya Kelappu Thala. That roughly translates to "Rock on boss". They will upload more cool posters on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/qruize throughout the World Chess Championship.

Here's another of Qruize posters, a little easier for international chess fans to understand!

Ram Vellayan of Qruize says, "Initially, we wanted to run the poster campaign because we love Anand. We are proudly made in Chennai. But, then we also feel there is lukewarm response to the World Chess Championship in the national media."

Vellayan says, "For example, on Friday, on the eve of the first game, top Indian newspapers do not have the chess match on their front pages for their North India editions! It's only for their South Indian editions. Look at top news sites like Rediff, NDTV etc. They have one chess story for every 100 cricket stories. That's when our resolve to run this creative campaign got stronger."

As a chess fan, you just need to do a small social media search. You will be checkmated by the options available.

One particularly hot chess page is Chess Club Live on Facebook. They have a massive, massive, massive following of over 43,000 Likes (or people who have enlisted for their updates). There's a chess news update on the page every two minutes in all time zones. Phew!

There are thousands of chess groups on Facebook, and we cannot even start listing them. A single search will leave you zapped at the very number of chess groups you could join right now what with virtually each one of them talking about the World Chess Championship in Chennai.

For twitter, you have the excellent Twitter guide by Eric van Reem on MateinChennai.com. The official hashtag for the Anand versus Carlsen World chess Championship is #FWCM2013. There's another very popular one #AnandCarlsen and much more easier to remember as well. Let's hope one of them trends on Twitter in India during the World Chess Championship this November.

Magnus Carlsen has himself been tweeting a little via @MagnusCarlsen and Vishy Anand has tweeted a little via Vishy64theKing.

Online, or offline, right now majority of chess lovers in India are rooting for Viswanathan Anand. At least everyone in Chennai is.
However, no matter where you are, and no matter whose side you are on, let's cheer for chess.
This Anand versus Carlsen Chennai World Chess Championship 2013 is going to bring great joy to all chess lovers for sure. -- Rajat Khanna(Photo (left): Outside the venue Hyatt Regency in Chennai)

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

A National Movement by NIIT Takes Off Ahead of the World Chess Championship!

NEW DELHI, October 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- A unique initiative to enable every Indian to cheer for Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand as he fights to defend the crown for India at the World Chess Championship, 2013 in Chennai -

NIIT Limited, leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia's largest IT trainer, today unveiled#Wish4Vishy http://www.wish4vishy.com - a national movement to enable every Indian to cheer for reigning World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan (Vishy) Anand, as he prepares to take on challenger world number oneMagnus Carlsen, at the World Chess Championship 2013, to be held between November 7 - 28, 2013 in Chennai.

In his glorious career spanning over 25 years Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand has taken Indian chess to great heights. Born in Chennai, Anand is acclaimed to be the Fastest Brain in the world. Five times World Champion, Vishy is the only person in Chess history to have won a World championship title in all formats - match, knock-out and tournament. It is his success in the world scene that has made this ancient Indian game, a mass sport in India.

NIIT offers a unique opportunity to every Indian to take pride in Vishy's achievements and wish him good luck before the forthcoming World Chess Championship. The best entries stand a chance to win free ticket during the World Chess Championship 2013 and special gifts on every alternate day, for the best wish expressed.

Vishy has been associated with NIIT for nearly 15 years now. NIIT MindChampions' Academy (MCA), a not-for-profit joint initiative that was started by NIIT & Vishy to promote Chess in schools, has today touched 1.65 million children in over 17,000 schools cumulatively, across the country. Over the years, MCA has not only enabled schools to use Chess as an academic tool but has also made it possible for Vishy, personally, to take the legacy of Chess to children across India.

Speaking on the #Wish4Vishy initiative, World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion, ViswanathanAnand said, "I would like to thank everyone for the amazing wishes. To all the friends who have sent intheir wishes for me through NIIT's Wish4Vishy initiative, I would like to say that every single wish means a lot to me. Thank you for the fantastic support and your love."

G Raghavan, Chief Executive, Career Building Solutions, NIIT Limited said "It is a matter of immense pride for every Indian that five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Vishy Anand will be defending his World title at his home ground inChennai, this November. Therefore, we have specially put together the #Wish4Vishy movement to give every Indian an opportunity to cheer for Vishy and be a part of this excitement."

The Microsite http://www.wish4vishy.com would be the hub of all the wishes pouring in. There is an Instagram Feed, Twitter Feed, Facebook feed as well as wishes coming in straight from the microsite that would be visible.

About NIIT MindChampions' AcademyThe NIIT MindChampions' Academy (MCA), a not-for-profit initiative has been set up as a joint initiative by Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and NIIT Limited with the objective of promoting Chess in schools to enable development of young minds. Studies have shown that Chess improves concentration and diligence thus helping students perform better academically.

Established in 2002, MCA has touched 1.65 million children in over 17,000 schools cumulatively, across India. Over the last 11 years MCA has organized more than 16,000 school level tournaments and over 5,500 District level & State Level tournaments. World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand has personally travelled to various parts across Indiaand has visited countries like Africa & China, spreading the message and motivating the school students to start playing Chess.

NIIT MindChampions' Academy conducts the hugely popular Annual Event, known as ChessMaster for school children acrossIndia within the NIIT network of schools where it provides IT education. It is also the first institution in India to launch a certificate program in Chess under a Central Government University umbrella- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

NIIT now offers the unique opportunity to wish World Chess Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand on the eve of the World Chess Championship at Chennai through #Wish4Vishy (http://www.wish4vishy.com), initiative powered by NIIT Cloud Campus. Wishes can be submitted online with applicants standing a chance to win free ticket to the World Chess Championship.

NIIT Cloud Campus[TM]is a pioneering initiative from NIIT to help take high quality educational programs to the remotest corners of the country. NIIT Cloud Campus[TM]is based on a revolutionary educational paradigm which takes students beyond the traditional classroom teaching. Further, NIIT has set up http://www.niitcloudcampus.com asa student gateway to help them identify trends in new age skills and offermore information on NIIT Cloud Campus[TM].

About NIITEstablished in 1981, NIIT Limited, a leading Global Talent Development Corporation and Asia's premier IT trainer, offers learning and knowledge solutions across 40 countries. Leading IT journal Dataquest has conferred upon NIIT the 'Top IT Training Company' award successively for the past 20 years, since the inception of this category.

NIIT's Individual Learning Business offerings include industry-endorsed programs for students seeking careers in IT - GNIIT and Edgeineers, and GlobalNet+ for IT professionals. The company has introduced "India's first cloud campus", through its new-age GNIIT program. This offers students a higher mobility as they can access courseware using Netbooks to connect seamlessly to NIIT's Cloud Campus network.

- Centre for Advanced Learning, offers Executive Learning Programs in association with leading Business schools in India, KPMG, Google India and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), using the synchronous learning platform.

NIIT Institute of Finance Banking & Insurance (NIIT IFBI), formed by NIIT with equity participation from ICICI Bank, offers programs for individuals and corporates in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance.

In recognition of its people centric policies, which foster an environment of growth and career development, NIIT has been ranked as the 4th Best company to work for in India 2013, by Great Place to Work Institute®.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has starred in at least four commercial advertising campaigns. His wife Aruna has been a part of two of these advertising films as well. Vishy Anand has been a brand ambassador for NIIT (global IT services company) for 14 years now. Brands he has associated with include AMD India, Union Bank of India, Parle-G, Crocin, etc.

These brands have tried to leverage not only Anand’s intelligence quotient, but also his image of the "likeable, quiet powerhouse" champion and dependability. Anand epitomises determination, intelligence and resilience. His brand image in India is all about credibility.

NIIT’s 13-year long relationship with Anand has been built on the basis of the similarities between the game of chess and the brand personality of NIIT. Explaining the powerful synergy between the two, Prateek Chatterjee, Associate Vice President & Head- Corporate Communications, NIIT says, “Just as chess helps to develop the young mind and enhance lateral thinking skills; NIIT has also been shaping minds by bringing people and computers together.”

Among the various marketing campaigns with the chess master, the prominent ones include an NIIT mind champion’s academy, a joint initiative between Anand and NIIT with the objective of promoting chess among school students. Its direct connect based marketing strategy for this ten-year-old academy, that boasts of 15 lakh members, focuses on on-ground activities like mentoring, and lectures by Anand. Its latest campaign ‘Turning Point’ will also see similar interactive activities by Anand.

Most experts agree that NIIT has benefited tremendously from its association with Anand, who has a hard appeal which goes well with the brand’s intended positioning and career oriented outlook.

Real estate developer TVH also took on World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand as brand ambassador late last year. N. Ravichandran, Chairman, TVH Group, said the company had created a niche by being a customer-centric real estate brand. “The credibility factor associated with Mr. Viswanathan Anand, as a result of his impressive track record, prompted us to have him as our brand ambassador. We wanted to bring in a Chennai boy into our fold,” he added. Mr. Viswanathan Anand said he himself was a customer of TVH and that his experience was good. “We will do some interesting things together, including chess,” the chess champion said. The association with TVH would grow in strength in the years to come, he added.

Anand also represents Vidyasagar (formerly known as the Spastics Society of India) as its global ambassador, without charging a fee and hosts an annual fundraiser for Vidyasagar each year.

Here are five commercial advertising videos with World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand that you are sure to enjoy - particularly the first one which chess 'wins' for Vishy Anand in a cricket-crazy country! -- Zainab Raza Undulusi

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Anand vs Carlsen

We've been celebrating the World Chess Championship 2013. The new World Chess Champion is Magnus Carslen, but we will continue to post links, views, features surrounding the World Chess Championship 2013 for the sheer joy of having witnessed chess history being created. Feel free to share opinion, links, and even point out errors - no matter which side you have been cheering for. Let's just continue celebrating a historic chess event. (Email: editor@blackandwhiteindia.com)